The Gelid Blue got its name from the thick viscous nature of the water. There was something unusual about it, as it could stay at a temperature far below zero yet still remain in a liquid state. It was said to carry a sort of cold energy that made it a valuable resource which was harvested by the owners of the city. It was a very low tier material and the average cultivator could use as much as they wanted, but they had a method to search those leaving for its presence. Those trying to export it from Gelid Blue in large quantities had to do business with them. Since most of the cultivators in the Depths were already quite high ranking they didn’t have a great amount of use for it so there didn’t seem to be too much dispute over it. Most who were descending into the sea continued past the root area on their way to the rich hunting zones, but Sage swam into this area to collect some of the local species. These creatures weren’t very powerful at all, but Sage was always interested in new things.

He was also using it as an excuse to spend more time in the area so he could slowly collect more and more of the strange sea water into the Inner World. He had no doubt that they could find the stuff in standard Storage Treasures, but he doubted they could search the Universe Ring. Even if they could, would they also be able to search his Inner World? From what he knew, others had only been able to find out that he had the Inner World, none of them were able to see what was on it, especially not in any great detail. They certainly didn’t say anything to him when he arrived to warn him.

If I was running this place and someone with an Inner World showed up, I’d ban them immediately.

Since he didn’t even get a second look, then he could only assume they were clueless as to his ability. He drained the seawater into his body at a constant rate, being careful not to disturb the area around him with too great of a flow rate. He also captured the nearby creatures and took a few small cuttings from the tree roots. He moved on to the roots of the other huge trees in the area, taking more small cuttings and confirming that the sealife was similar. On the Inner World a special team was already recreating the environment of the Gelid Blue to learn more about these strange trees and also see about reproducing the special sea water. Sage didn’t have any specific use for it in mind, but he was always pushing for more diversity and renewable resources on the Inner World. Every unique resource was one more possible material to combine with all the others. From Earth he knew that every element that was discovered opened up new alloys and combinations with others.

He spent a few hours moving away from the entrance till he found a nicely secluded spot and hid the Universe Ring among the roots. Then the next few days he relaxed inside the Universe Ring while sending water to the Inner World. With a decent sized lake collected he went back out into the water and swam downwards. They had to travel for some time to reach the area where the special icy seawater stopped and the normal ocean began once again. This was also the area where other arctic fish and creatures liked to congregate. There were many beasts that loved the special Gelid Blue water, while many others absolutely hated it. This area was still somewhat close to the surface of the sea and the layer of ice above diffused but didn’t block all the light above from penetrating. There was a rich world of plankton here and with that came many beasts that consumed them.

Many microscopic plants lived off this sunlight, and these phytoplankton were consumed by zooplankton. These microscopic cattle were then consumed by small fish, who were then eaten by larger fish and larger fish. They were also in such great abundance that there were large animals that ate them directly. The information scroll spoke of them and Sage immediately recognized the description as matching that of whales.

Demonic Whales! I wonder what their songs sound like? They probably have power in them so I better be careful.

He traveled for a while, following an undersea current towards what was listed as one of the useful resources in the area. There, he caught sight of that important resource. In front of him there were many large white seals, their bodies the size of a small truck, each of them swimming through the water and seeming to drink in the cloudy water that was flooded with plankton. Then they closed their mouths and made a strange face, keeping their teeth locked together while lifting their lips to bare their teeth. Their teeth consisted of large interlocking fangs or tusks that had many small holes punched through them. They had soft ivory colored coats that matched their large teeth and also made them stand out slightly while under the water. These were Ivory Seals, and they were busy squirting water through their teeth. The plankton would stay trapped inside their mouths while the water pushed through the small holes.

These Ivory Seals were one of the major resources of Gelid Blue. They were valued for their ivory tusks, off-white fur coats, and thick layers of blubber. This blubber was used to make Ivory Seal Oil, a product famous for its long burning time and high heat. It was an alternative to low tier Fire Stones and didn’t require Qi. A mortal blacksmith could use it to substitute for Fire Stones that normally only cultivators could operate with their Qi. It was also the oil that was used to power the fire pits in the Gelid Blue’s longhouses. The Ivory Seals were very abundant and weren’t aggressive unless they were attacked first. That said, they were still 5th tier Demonic Beasts and they were smart enough to know that they were hunted by cultivators. Soon after Sage caught sight of them they noticed him and fled in the opposite direction.

Unfortunately for them, Sage was faster than them and he quickly caught up. Poisoning and then sending them into the Inner World when they were paralyzed. He captured five of them while the other five he saw escaped. Perhaps they’re actually the fortunate ones since they ran into me instead of other hunters that would kill them.

He swam for a bit longer before running into some more seals. Moving to meet them he noticed that they were different from the last ones. They were still light colored from below, which is where he approached from, but their backs were dark, almost black in color. They also didn’t have the comically large teeth and grin. Instead they bared sharp fangs when they saw him. Sage and these seals watched each other for a few moments before Sage recognized what they were. He turned and started swimming away rapidly a few seconds before a seal twice as big as the others burst out from the pack. Sage already had a head start, but this ‘boss’ was much more powerful than the others of its kind and he chose to stop and face off against it. He saw it in advance with his Foresight and chose to build a bit of distance to keep from being outnumbered.

Seeing this newcomer up close, Sage was ‘impressed’ with how much of an understatement the information scroll’s description of this beast was: A large predatory seal with white bellies, the males have brilliant blue furred manes.

The beast in front of him had the head and mane of a lion large enough for him to walk leisurely into. The teeth were literally the size of swords and likely just as sharp. A simple name like ‘Lion Seal’ was apt, but also didn’t capture the terror of this beast, especially since it was radiating some sort of Fear Law and sending shivers up his spine.